Standard 8: Assessment of Student LearningThe teacher understands and uses formal and informal assessment strategies to evaluate and ensure the continuous intellectual, social, and physical development of the pupil.
Rationale
The explorer PowerPoint was created to give students an opportunity to complete a research project while using multimedia that they were familiar with. Also, this type of multimedia lends itself to a kid friendly way to present the information to the class. I had tried research papers along with other types of projects in the past but often the quality wasn’t what I envisioned. In my second year of using PowerPoint for research on early American explorers I found most students produced high quality slide shows. Throughout the process I realized how important it was for both me and students to have a clearly written and detailed rubric that is given before students start the project. Students had a clear understanding of what I expected and thus I could accurately assess and evaluate their development under early American explorers. What I also appreciated was having the opportunity to informally assess their knowledge of the topic through questions during their presentation. I found that many students could create a good presentation but didn’t really understand what they had written. I know that one assessment is not enough to adequately assess or evaluate a skill or concept but a combination of assessment strategies serves students best.
KSD:
8.K.3 The teacher understands measurement theory and assessment-related issues, such as validity, reliability, bias, and scoring concerns.
The explorer PowerPoint rubric shows my understanding that there can be issues with all types of assessments by not only using a rubric to evaluate a students understanding of the topic but an informal assessment during their presentation. Today students can copy information from a variety of places so creating multiple ways to assess their knowledge is important to make sure what you are grading is truly what they know, not somebody else’s knowledge.
8.S.5 The teacher monitors his or her own teaching strategies and behaviors in relation to student success, modifying plans and instructional approaches accordingly.
Using multiple assessments like I did in the explorer PowerPoint project gives me more accurate feedback and a chance for better reflection. During this past year’s group of projects I noticed many students did not get some important details from when exploration first started in Europe. I was able to use my assessments to modify instruction going forward and recover parts of history that students missed the first time through.
8.D.2 The teacher is committed to using assessment to identify student strengths and promote student growth rather than to deny students access to learning opportunities.
Through the opportunity to see presentations and grade information on explorers I was able to identify particular students with strengths in multimedia creation and summarizing main ideas learned through research. Because of this I gave these specific students, who I observed could handle a similar but more difficult project, the opportunity to create a short video to report information instead of creating a newsletter. I wanted to give these students an opportunity to go further in exploring other forms of multimedia.
Standard 8: Assessment of Student LearningThe teacher understands and uses formal and informal assessment strategies to evaluate and ensure the continuous intellectual, social, and physical development of the pupil.
Evidence
Rationale
The explorer PowerPoint was created to give students an opportunity to complete a research project while using multimedia that they were familiar with. Also, this type of multimedia lends itself to a kid friendly way to present the information to the class. I had tried research papers along with other types of projects in the past but often the quality wasn’t what I envisioned. In my second year of using PowerPoint for research on early American explorers I found most students produced high quality slide shows. Throughout the process I realized how important it was for both me and students to have a clearly written and detailed rubric that is given before students start the project. Students had a clear understanding of what I expected and thus I could accurately assess and evaluate their development under early American explorers. What I also appreciated was having the opportunity to informally assess their knowledge of the topic through questions during their presentation. I found that many students could create a good presentation but didn’t really understand what they had written. I know that one assessment is not enough to adequately assess or evaluate a skill or concept but a combination of assessment strategies serves students best.
KSD:
8.K.3 The teacher understands measurement theory and assessment-related issues, such as validity, reliability, bias, and scoring concerns.
The explorer PowerPoint rubric shows my understanding that there can be issues with all types of assessments by not only using a rubric to evaluate a students understanding of the topic but an informal assessment during their presentation. Today students can copy information from a variety of places so creating multiple ways to assess their knowledge is important to make sure what you are grading is truly what they know, not somebody else’s knowledge.
8.S.5 The teacher monitors his or her own teaching strategies and behaviors in relation to student success, modifying plans and instructional approaches accordingly.
Using multiple assessments like I did in the explorer PowerPoint project gives me more accurate feedback and a chance for better reflection. During this past year’s group of projects I noticed many students did not get some important details from when exploration first started in Europe. I was able to use my assessments to modify instruction going forward and recover parts of history that students missed the first time through.
8.D.2 The teacher is committed to using assessment to identify student strengths and promote student growth rather than to deny students access to learning opportunities.
Through the opportunity to see presentations and grade information on explorers I was able to identify particular students with strengths in multimedia creation and summarizing main ideas learned through research. Because of this I gave these specific students, who I observed could handle a similar but more difficult project, the opportunity to create a short video to report information instead of creating a newsletter. I wanted to give these students an opportunity to go further in exploring other forms of multimedia.